NFT: Thanksgiving Dinner- What and Where?

very close friends, at their house --we are all cooking something. I am on appetizer/brisket duty as the word is out that I can make burnt ends now and the brisket egg rolls are to die for. So I got my denver prime roast cut, earlier today. Smoking it on Wednesday and will make the burnt ends and egg rolls thursday morning.

Gonna eat and drink like an asshole and I can't wait.

feast with sausage stuffing potatoes, etc.... yes Italian...

About 25 people.

We do 2 turkeys in the oven and I smoke 4 breasts with Chef Prudhomme poultry magic rub. Been using that rub for years for the smoked turkey. My wife makes the best stuffing known to man.

Remainder of the sides: Creamed Spinach, Broccoli casserole, garlic mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, honey glazed carrots on the Blackstone (Comes out unreal), smoked cauliflower (Smoke it with the breasts), corn, mushrooms, cranberry sauce. Probably more I'm forgetting.

Enough beer and wine to kill a small horse and a bottle of Macallan and some different Bourbons for the fire pit after dinner.

Cannot wait. My favorite holiday of the year.

let's be honest it's better than the traditional turkey dinner anyway.

Roast a dry-brined turkey and fry a wet-brined smaller bird. I also make a bone in turkey breast that we use just for sandwiches later on. 15 lbs of mashed potatoes and of course, Gravy. Also cook Turnip and Butternut squash. My wife makes stuffing, a couple pies and the rest of the sides, folks bring. Also making baked brie en croute, shrimp cocktail and a charcuterie board.

A lot of work and a lot of fun. I look forward to it every year.

Happy Holidays to you!

coming. Relatives all had other things going on, my brother and sister have in-laws to take care of.

Mrs. in CT and I will be cooking most of Wednesday. Thanksgiving food lends itself to cooking ahead of time.

I make a roasted butternut squash soup. It's from a Bon Appetit Holiday book from the '90s but I added roasting the squash first with cinnamon, clove and nutmeg first. And I'm in charge of the bird and gravy. We stuff the carcass with shallots, sage, thyme, rosemary and orange wedges. Gravy is turkey broth and drippings, shallots, giblets and deglaze with grand marnier.

Wife makes my grandmother's sausage, sweet potato and spinach stuffing (dressing?) in the oven separately, and her own sweet potato mash/baked. And we'll be having roasted brussels sprouts with pancetta and onions. also a small bowl of sauteed mushroms because I like it on my turkey.

We have Josh, Joel Gott and Angeline Reserve Pinot Noirs. And I bought a Joel Gott Zinfandel for myself. I love it with this meal, nobody else does (YAY!)

I think wife is making her own Pumpkin Pie. I'l go to Stew Leonards (or if I have time Oronoque Farms in Shelton) for an apple pie.

A lot of food for 5, but we will just parcel a bunch out for the kids to take home. She got a 20 lb. bird, so will be a lot.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving with your family.

are seniors in college both will be home and my in-laws are still alive but showing signs of slowing down rapidly, so really looking forward to Thanksgiving this year, we host as usual, and will have a traditional Thanksgiving meal that I am sure will be awesome (I am brining and roasting the turkey - Alton Brown method), but the food is taking a back seat to the company. Not sure how many more of these we'll have left.

The college seniors are already talking about settling down in a city for their post-college adventures - Austin, TX, Nashville, TN, Charlotte or Raleigh, NC, somewhere emerging and like I said my in-laws seem to be winding down so the future is as Joe Strummer said is "unwritten"

over my place. Spatchcocking two, 12 pounders on my RecTeq. Dry brine then will inject breast & thighs.

After the traditional Thanksgiving Day parade on 67st and CPW, first one for my grandson. Starting with a beautiful Iberico that I brought back from my grandmas house in Spain along with some very nice chorizos, blood sausages, and Manchego cheese for appys. A small turkey 10 lbs. which I will brine on Wednesday, some broccoli rabe and Italian sweet sausage, garlic mashed potatoes, roasted tri color carrots in maple syrup, and grilled asparagus with fresh garlic. Pumpkin and Pecan pies made by my daughter in law. I have at disposal a wide variety of wines for anyones liking, and a nice Balvenie and Gran Duque de Alba Brandy also from Spain.
I hope all of you have a great Thanksgiving in the company of your friends and families, a great day!

You give me such ideas!

We are having my 89 year old in-laws as well as my wife's sister for the big day!

Traditional Turkey with all the prep, seasoning, love. My wilfe makes two pyrex' long bowls of stuffing; one for Thursday and one for leftovers. My Sister-in-Law is all about the mash potatoes and gravy.......So good. My Mother-in-Law is all about the sweet potatoes with clementines. We have two buttery chardonnays and one Gewürztraminer for dinner and leftovers.

My Father-in-Law still elbows me out of the way to carve the turkey which he does drumsticks, wings and parts of one breast. I step in for the rest and cut down the other breast in one large piece for leftovers.

My wife bakes her pu pumpkin pie and we get an apple pie from the local orchard. I can't wait and I can't wait to read more posts on this thread!

You are the best!!!!

Re: Italian posts above.. my childhood Thanksgivings were way more about homemade raviolis than traditional American Thanksgiving... But I do not follow that tradition, just wasn't something my wife's family would go for..

So on to my Thanksgiving..

9 adults 4 kids age 8-12

Apps will be a banging charcuterie board from my sister in law, shrimp cocktail, chips and dip, mini beef wellingtons (Wegmans), bacon wrapped scallops, veggie tray, fruit bowl

I dry brine a turkey (get it going early to me morrow) and roast on a rack stuffed with onions, celery, carrots with white wine in bottom of pan. Wife does 2 large pans of a homemade stuffing. We'll also do a ton of mashed potatoes, my mom isn't coming down this year so we'll do regular corn instead of her creamed corn, roasted sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, and some brioche rolls from a local bakery

Dessert is a caramel apple crumb pie from my other sister in law, a chocolate chip cookie pie from same local bakery mentioned above, gluten free chocolate chip cookies, and I'm trying to decide whether to make my mom's sweet potato pie (it's my absolute favorite but inlaws still won't try it after like 15 thanksgivings so I end up eating most of it myself!)

I always worry I won't have enough food but writing this out, I think I'm fine!! Haha

Back up north so going to my sister's (who can't cook) because my 94-year-old mom wants to stay close to home and every thanksgiving could be her last.

My sister ordered a turkey and we are making gravy and all the sides. Have to pack it all up safely for a 4 hour drive. Flipping which son we see this year since we flipped locations.

PJ I would tell your kids to avoid Nashville or Austin IMO, both cities grew too fast, have little infrastructure or affordable rents.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Last year, due to the Giants being on, I secured hosting our first Thanksgiving and really enjoyed it. We cooked two turkey's, one traditionally roasted and the other smoked on the WSM (no wood, but smoked with charcoal and sprigs of Thyme). I was hoping this would become the new tradition, but my Aunt took Thanksgiving back this year. She's hosted nearly every year since I was a little sprout, and it's a bunch of fun, the meal is fantastic and they have more room than we do, so it's more comfortable.

There's just something about hosting Thanksgiving that feels important. I'm the oldest of my siblings and cousins, and have the most established family, so it feels like it's time to start a new tradition where we are the central hub, although I also don't mind kicking the can down the road since the current plan has been so much fun.

In comment 16297792 oghwga said:

Quote:

Back up north so going to my sister's (who can't cook) because my 94-year-old mom wants to stay close to home and every thanksgiving could be her last. My sister ordered a turkey and we are making gravy and all the sides. Have to pack it all up safely for a 4 hour drive. Flipping which son we see this year since we flipped locations. PJ I would tell your kids to avoid Nashville or Austin IMO, both cities grew too fast, have little infrastructure or affordable rents. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Thanks oghwga, I appreciate the advice, my only experience with either city is as a work traveler and it's hard gauge things like that going from airport to hotel to conference room to hotel to airport with an occasional restaurant sprinkled in.

I think this is all talk for now and they both wind up in Boston. At least I hope they do. Possibly NYC but I am pushing against that. One of them already has a job offer in Boston. Incredible job offer and I just could not relate in any way to heading in to your senior year of college with a great job offer in hand (actually accepted it, but of course still looking for something "better").

wine and some specialty beers. Wife has already done the food shopping and is doing some early prep work today on a few dishes.

Obviously turkey & stuffing on menu but it's all about the sides in our house. This year includes an alpine potato casserole dish which has bacon, cream and cheese in it. Also will have cranberry salad with cognac, roasted brussels sprouts with balsemic, and dinner rolls.

I think apps include a fresh corn/cheese dip and some charcuterie board.

We are celebrating with my sisters family who followed us down from NJ.

I am making spinach lasagna and cast iron skillet seared, oven roasted ribeyes. My wife will make all the sides.

Drinking a variety of local beers - Triple C Winter Ale, Heist Bloody Hive, Sycamore Xmas Cookie, Reptar Juice IPA.

Will have Bailey’s on ice with coffee and variety of wines available for the woman.

In my entire life, I think we went to someone else's house for Thanksgiving one time. Maybe twice. She wants things done her way. My sister and her husband do pie and collard greens, I do the mashed potatoes (cause mine are the best!) and turnips. Everything else is mom's - stuffed mushrooms and hot crab dip for hors d'oeuvres, the turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, and whatever other vegetables she wants.

became good friends many years back, both moved and about 20 minutes away from each other in CT. So us and the kids and a ton of food. No family bullshit.

Mrs. in Ct making her warm clam dip and also spinach artichoke dip. the cheese man at Shop Rite introduced us to this great gouda last week so we bought that, and they make a great baked brie on the premises that we like, with apricot filling this time. and assorted crackers, fruits, nuts.

In comment 16298131 Victor in CT said:

Quote:

Mrs. in Ct making her warm clam dip and also spinach artichoke dip. the cheese man at Shop Rite introduced us to this great gouda last week so we bought that, and they make a great baked brie on the premises that we like, with apricot filling this time. and assorted crackers, fruits, nuts.

she also makes her own cranberry/orange compote. I usually have it for breakfast in my oatmeal rather than with dinner.

Way too many great meals for me to comment on. Wishing everyone a great holiday with great food shared with family and friends

Wife, daughter, son, & I flying to O'Hare tomorrow. Wife's brother/brother in law is hosting. I think he's expecting 20-25 people.

Bunch of us going to a bar Friday for Fins-Jets. Can't wait.